Morning News Call - India, January 3

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FACTORS TO WATCH
• 11:00 am: Winter Session of Parliament continues in New Delhi.
LIVECHAT- FX UPDATE
What does the new year hold for the currency market? Which currencies will
outperform in 2019 and which will tank we will find out with ABN Amro’s Senior
FX Strategist, Georgette Boele at 4:30 pm IST. To join the conversation, click
on the link: here
INDIA TOP NEWS
• Hindustan Petroleum confirms Indian oil firms stop taking margin hit on
fuel sales
Indian manufacturing activity expanded at a slower pace in December as growth in
new orders and output waned, despite factories cutting their prices, a private
survey showed on Wednesday.
• Aurobindo Pharma to recall 80 lots of blood pressure medicine valsartan in
the US
A U.S. unit of Indian generic drugmaker Aurobindo Pharma will recall 80 lots
of medicines containing blood pressure drug valsartan that were found to have a
probable cancer-causing impurity, according to the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration.
• Cabinet approves merger of three state-owned banks
India's cabinet has approved the merger of state-run Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank
with Bank of Baroda, the government said on Wednesday, in a step aimed at
cleaning up the country's banking system.
• ONGC to reconsider government's demand to list exploration subsidiary,
says chairman
India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp will reconsider the government's demand
that it list ONGC Videsh, its overseas exploration subsidiary, Shashi Shanker,
chairman and managing director of the company said on Wednesday.
• Cabinet approves incentives for exporters of select goods
India's federal cabinet on Wednesday approved incentives amounting to 6
billion rupees for some goods exporters, in a move to push shipment of farm
produce, textiles, leather and handicraft goods, a government statement said.
• Indian manufacturing growth slows in December despite price cuts - PMI
Indian manufacturing activity expanded at a slower pace in December as
growth in new orders and output waned, despite factories cutting their prices, a
private survey showed on Wednesday.
• Indian Oil says Iran may still invest in Chennai Petroleum expansion
India's biggest refiner Indian Oil Corp said on Wednesday that Iran may
still invest in a refinery expansion project at one of its subsidiaries.
GLOBAL TOP NEWS
• Apple cuts forecast, citing weak China sales amid trade tensions
Apple on Wednesday took the rare step of cutting its quarterly sales
forecast, with Chief Executive Tim Cook blaming slowing iPhone sales in China,
whose economy has been dragged down by uncertainty around U.S.-China trade
relations.
• China's Xi threatens Taiwan with force but also seeks peaceful
'reunification'
China reserves the right to use force to bring Taiwan under its control but
will strive to achieve peaceful "reunification" with the self-ruled island that
has a bright future under any future Chinese rule, President Xi Jinping said on
Wednesday.
• No progress toward ending U.S. shutdown in Trump meeting with lawmakers
No agreement came out of a meeting between U.S. congressional leaders and
President Donald Trump on Wednesday to end a partial government shutdown now in
its 12th day as the president stuck to his demand for $5 billion in border wall
funding fiercely opposed by Democrats.
LOCAL MARKETS OUTLOOK
(As reported by NewsRise)
• SGX Nifty nearest-month futures were trading up 0.4 percent at 10,873.50
from its previous close.
• The Indian rupee is expected to open lower against the U.S. currency after
the dollar index rebounded from near two-month lows.
• Indian government bonds are expected to fall in early session tracking an
overnight rise in crude oil prices. The yield on the benchmark 7.17 percent bond
maturing in 2028 is likely to trade in a 7.33 percent-7.39 percent band today.
GLOBAL MARKETS
• Wall Street edged higher on Wednesday after stumbling out of the starting
gate on the first trading day of 2019, while fears of a global economic slowdown
were exacerbated after Apple cut its holiday-quarter revenue forecast.
• Shares in Asia fell and U.S. stock futures dropped sharply after Apple Inc
cut its revenue forecast due in part to weaker sales in China, adding to
concerns about the slowing global economy.
• The yen surged through key technical levels as heightened worries about
the global economy pushed investors to safe haven-assets in moves exacerbated by
thin holiday volumes.
• Yields on long-dated U.S. Treasury securities fell to their lowest in
nearly a year on concerns about the health of the global economy, a worry
exacerbated late in the day when Apple cut its sales outlook and sent U.S.
equity index futures tumbling.
• Oil prices fell amid volatile currency and stock markets, and as analysts
warned of an economic slowdown for 2019 just as crude supply is rising globally.
• Gold prices inched up as a dip in Asian equities and worries about a sharp
global economic slowdown propelled demand for safer investments.
CLOSE FII INVESTMENTS EQUITIES DEBT
PNDF spot 70.04/70.07 January 2 -$88.74 mln $5.07 mln
10-yr bond yield 7.4 pct Month-to-date - -$82.76 mln
Year-to-date - -
For additional data:
India govt bond market volumes
Stock market reports
Non-deliverable forwards data
Corporate debt stories [IN CORPD]
Local market closing/intraday levels [IN SNAPSHOT]
Monthly inflows [INFLOWS RTRS TABLE IN]
($1 = 69.98 Indian rupees)
(Compiled by Swathi Nair in Bengaluru)